When it comes to writing, is a bot or human best?

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Panama resident and HMC director, Heather Claycomb, shares her thoughts on the necessity of people in a future of AI shaping the way we communicate.

In the public relations industry, using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop stories is one of the trends we are watching with huge interest. Even just before Christmas 2022, most of us hadn’t heard of Chat GPT, but now we are seeing it everywhere! And once it was released, many other AI companies have followed. It’s really going to revolutionise not only our PR industry, but the way other professions write content for a wide variety of purposes.

If you are the parent of a high school or university student, I imagine many of your children are using this sort of technology already to write assignments, essays  and do research. It’s one thing to do some Googling to find answers to questions, but a whole other ballgame to have a bot do your homework for you!

On the professional side of things, I’ve seen articles about how content agencies are using this technology. And I’ve seen journalists talk about using AI to help them write news articles. Here’s an entire story in The Guardian written by a bot - shorturl.at/orHOQ.

While the use of bots to write articles brings up some ethical issues for me personally and concerns around accuracy, it certainly looks like the technology is here to stay. That means, as a businesses need to think about the boundaries they set around its use.

You may also ask, “Heather, are bots going to write you out of a job?” Check back with me in five years’ time, but I can pretty confidently say no. That’s because my team and I are in the business of helping organisations build reputation and relationships using strategic communication. And achieving goals in this space requires a human touch. 

While on the surface, using AI for your writing tasks might look like the easy and cheap option, I believe that when it comes to purposeful writing, you still need a human. Here are three reasons why:

Context
Sure, you can get a bot to write a factual article on “how to become a CEO” (yes, you literally can). But you won’t get context. Does geography matter?  Is it different in different industries? Does gender matter? Does personality come into play? Does your approach need to change depending on age and stage of career? Does the change in leadership requirements post-pandemic come into play?

A human will always offer the benefit of taking a step back, assessing the environment and writing an article that takes into account the context of the day. This is what makes something worth reading for the people you are trying to impact.

Connection
While a bot can give you some facts on a topic, the best writing makes a human connection. To change perceptions, gain cut-through, create impact and emotion or persuade, the very best way to achieve these communications goals is to tell personal people stories that connect an audience with the author’s subject.

The public is not ready for a bot to write ‘emotional’ content. A case in point is how Vanderbilt University in the USA recently used a bot to convey a message to its school community about the Michigan State University shootings earlier in the month. There was huge backlash from their community saying it was inappropriate to have used Chat GPT for such an important message.

Caution
Let’s say you throw caution to the wind and get a bot to write your website blog stories, social media posts and media releases without a filter. My prediction: it would only be a matter of time until you are caught out by your audience. How are you checking facts? Where has this information come from? Have you taken into account current events?

Only a human can continually assess and scan the environment in which you are communicating to determine how something will land with an audience, and what needs to be changed in order to not to offend, anger or annoy. And that is an incredibly important skill when it comes to protecting your reputation and relationships.

One thing is clear: the use of AI in the writing field is emerging but growing at a rapid pace. My advice is to pressure test what you read and when developing your own writing and content, opt for a human. It’s the safest, most ethical solution.